Anyway, I'm ridiculously excited for the Fedal final. I've watched tennis (Wimbledon, always) since the 80s, but I got really invested in their rivalry and started rooting for the young upstart to supplant the king, which he did in 2008. It reignited my love of the game and I started watching all the slams and Masters series religiously. Since then, they've had their ups and downs, and lifted the game to a whole new level. It's why you've got to give massive credit to Djokovic and, to a lesser extent, Murray for taking them on raising the game even further. But, tomorrow, is going to be a nice throwback.
I'm almost rooting for Federer, but I know when the match starts, it'll probably switch back to my main man, Rafa. Really, though, I'm just hoping for something special like their 2007 and 2008 Wimbledon finals. I think the 2007 match gets overlooked, but even though it ended in defeat for Nadal, it was a fantastically enjoyable match.
I think Fed fans have much to be optimistic about, he looked really good in their last match, and I think despite Nadal's incredible feat in getting to the final, his game is diminished in ways that Federer can take advantage of. However, Federer needs to conquer his mental gremlins. Obviously the answer is to get a hypnotist in and convince him he's playing Murray on the other side of net, because what he did to him in that Wimbledon SF was frightening, when he just served him off the planet, and you just know it was all down to the fact that Federer knew he owned Andy before a ball had even been served.
